No joke: Snowflakes on Mars

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have found snowflakes on the Martian surface. Though it is safe to say that skeptics remain when the topic of life on Mars comes up, this find is indeed a surprising one.

While it's not as exciting as the 1996 Tim Burton film, Mars Attacks, it's a find that comes as a big step forward for researchers in the science community.

Contrary to what comes to mind, the snowflakes are not the fluffy stuff we've come to love (or hate) in central New York. These flakes are approximately the size of a human red blood cell. Instead of falling like snow here on earth, its appearance resembles a low-lying fog.

The change it atmosphere comes during the Martian winter, when temperatures can drop as low as -193 degrees Fahrenheit, when it is cold enough to freeze carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Scientists hope the data they are analyzing now will help explain the weather on the small planet.